Twisted View
by imissmysocks
Summary: Taking up after Ana leaves Christian in FSOG - Ana just wants to lick her wounds while Christian struggles with wanting her back and finding Leila. A different Ana and definitely a different path from the rest of the series. Rated MA for language and adult themes.
1. Chapter 1

**Characters and universe belong to E.L. James.**

There will be Mature themes and language - do not read if it offends you.

No beta.

_This takes up after the first novel and references the very beginning of FSD. I take creative license with Ana and Christian and anything really. Consider this AU if you will. It's FSOG continued, but my way. I'm hoping this will be fun to write. Thanks for reading._

* * *

**1.**

"Earth to Ana Steele!"

With a sharp intake of breath, Anastasia tears her eyes away from the hypnotic spinning blades of the helicopter landing upon the helipad on the building across from SIP. She snaps her head to the side, realizing she has company by the window in the break room. Courtney, one of the commissioning editors is staring at her with arched, penciled black eyebrows.

"I'm sorry..." Ana pulls back slightly, wrapping her arms under her chest reflexively. "I was distracted."

"I noticed!" Courtney smiled sympathetically. "This is your first week, isn't it?" she asked offhandedly.

"Uhm...yes, yes it is."

"Hum..." Courtney handed her a thick folder. "Will you put this on Jack's desk for when he comes back from lunch, please? And remind him to look it over _immediately_."

"Uhm..." Ana unhooked one of her arms to grab the folder. "Sure, no problem."

She watched as the taller, skinnier woman clickety clacked away on her expensive heels. Ana swallowed thickly, hugging the folder to her chest as she turned to watch as a small delegation hopped out of the helicopter on the building across from her. She thought about the deflated Charlie Tango she'd stowed in her sock drawer since Saturday with a little pang in her chest. It felt like a million years ago – how could it be?

Forcing herself to move she decided to get back to work. After a modest lunch of turkey sandwich and a juice box she was ready to throw herself into work. She wished this job wasn't so fresh, that she already knew enough about the ropes that her boss could just pile work on her so she wouldn't have time to think about anything else.

Her boss, Mr. Jack Hyde was the sleazy type – he made her uncomfortable at times, but he was also polite and a very good instructor. Claire, the girl from the reception, had told her he was rarely in a bad mood and with time she would get over the flirting and the inappropriate staring. _Time_ – time seemed to be the key in all aspects of life. Time to learn the ropes, time to get used to your boss, time to forget your first love. Time was too slow for her liking.

Ana walked into Jack's office to drop the heavy folder on his desk like Courtney had asked, with the label _urgent_ facing upwards. She turned around and left, closing the door behind her. She slid behind her desk and fired up her lap top, to pick of where she'd left off. Christian's e-mail glared back at her and she quickly closed that window. She couldn't, wouldn't say yes. It was a bad idea. First the white roses on Monday, now an offer to drive her to Portland for José's exhibition. No. She didn't have that kind of strength.

She didn't understand why he was being so kind and solicitous. He'd told her that was the only kind of relationship he was interested in. He'd told her if she chose to walk away, it would be _it,_ there would be nothing more between them. He'd told her he couldn't make her happy and that it was wrong of her to love him. Why was he haunting her like this? Guilt? Damage control? Was he afraid she would tell everyone what a sick bastard he is now that she's left him? She signed his NDA, he had nothing to fear.

Realizing she'd just spent another fifteen minutes thinking about him while staring at the screen Ana mentally chastised herself, closing her eyes and pulling at her hair. She took a deep breath and set her hands on her mouse, getting back to work.

By 5:30, Jack Hyde came out of his office whistling and jerking his coat on, distracting her from the file she was reading. She looked up over her lap top and smiled.

"Great day, eh Ana? Not a bad first week so far!"

"Thank you, Jack."

"Well I'm going home. See you tomorrow!"

"Bye, Jack..." she nodded, watching him leave, whistling again.

Right. She had to go home. She stared at the screen again and thought about Christian's e-mail. She should at least offer him a polite rejection, right? She tried to tell herself the reason she hadn't replied at all was that she was giving herself the chance to feel better about actually _accepting_ his offer. But no, she couldn't. She couldn't sit in a car with Christian Grey for nearly three hours like it was nothing, like he was just a friend giving her a lift. No way. She thought her words carefully before she replied. She thanked him for the flowers and his thoughtfulness, told him her first week had been great so far. Then she told him there was no need to bother with the ride. She'd made plans already and she would be fine. She thought about how to end the e-mail, and she typed and deleted a dozen times before she finally settled for a simple _Ana_.

She shut down the laptop and got up immediately, grabbing her purse. She didn't want to fidget about until he answered. She made him wait the whole afternoon for an answer and imagined he wouldn't have been happy about that. As she set foot on the street and started heading to the bus stop she again wondered how he'd gotten her e-mail address. Then she rolled her eyes, reminding herself this was the man who got everything he wanted, the way he wanted. Getting her work e-mail address must have been only too easy.

The apartment is empty and still so bare. Ana and Kate had barely been around to make it a home yet. She missed Kate – she thought of her in Barbados getting a tan and smiled ruefully. Ana fixed herself a simple dinner and watched TV, trying not to think about him. She had spent a lot of her idle time trying not to think about him. She hoped this came to an end soon. It was her first break up, her first heartache, she knew nothing about what to expect and she really wished she had someone to talk to about it. But even if Kate was around, even if she called her Mom – what would she tell them? _It didn't work because he wanted to beat me and I kind of frown upon that? _She snorted at her humor. At least she would see José tomorrow. She needed to see a friendly face – it would make her feel better. She hoped.

**_x.x.x.x_**

Luke Sawyer was called into Christian Grey's office just after seven. The GHE building was nearly empty by then, but he was shown his way by Jason Taylor, who gestured for him to simply walk inside.

He stopped at the door and waited as Mr. Grey seemed to be on the phone with someone. He stood behind his desk, pacing with the ear bud tugged in while he spoke and shuffled some papers in his hand and desk. It wasn't two minutes before he ended call, and waved him closer, his eyes still on the papers at his desk.

"What do you have for me, Mr. Sawyer?" Christian Grey's deceptively smooth voice asked him.

Sawyer cleared his throat. "She checked out last night, Mr. Grey. I suspect she's spotted us at some point."

Mr. Grey looked up, his cool gray eyes impassive. "Do you? Well do you have any leads?"

"Not yet, sir," Sawyer confessed, trying to keep his voice even. "Ryan and his team are still searching as we speak. We should have an update before midnight."

"I suppose that is enough for now." Mr. Grey tossed the papers back in the tray before he moved to grab his suit jacket from behind his chair. "I have a new assignment for you, Mr. Sawyer."

"Sir?" Sawyer shifted in place, curiously, watching as his boss shrugged into his suit and closed the jacket button.

"You're going to the Portland Place Gallery tomorrow evening, for the photographer José Rodriguez's exhibit." Mr. Grey walked around the desk and handed him a folder. "You are going keep your eyes on her but be discreet."

Sawyer opened the folder to see the picture of a pale faced, brown haired girl – very pretty, with blue eyes and full lips. "Sir?" Sawyer looked at him questioningly.

"If Leila was aware of Ana's existence…" Mr. Grey paused, uncharacteristically reticent. "Well I need to know that she is safe."

Sawyer nodded, understanding. "Yes, sir."

Mr. Grey started walking towards the door to pull it open, but he paused again, and half turned back, his eyes on the floor before he looked directly at him, over his shoulder. "I also want a full report on what she's doing… and who she's with while you're there. Have your phone ready at all times."

"Understood, Mr. Grey." Sawyer nodded.

Mr. Grey pulled the door open and Jason Taylor was visible waiting outside.

"We're ready to go, Taylor."

"Mr. Grey…" Taylor nodded efficiently, turning around to move.

**_x.x.x.x_**

_A very short first chapter but it ends here because it sets the scene and the mood for what's to come._

_Thank you for reading, please drop a review if you'd like to see more._


	2. Chapter 2

_Thank you for the follows & favorites and specially for the the __**reviews**__._

* * *

**2.**

Ana smoothed out the creases on her maroon sweater dress as she hopped out of her rental car, tugging the hem down self-consciously. She had raided Kate's wardrobe again. She had done some emergency shopping on Sunday, for some casually professional clothes, but the nicer clothes she would leave for her first pay check, so Kate had to save the day again, while overseas… _Well done, Kate!_

She made her way across the street to the Gallery, impressed by the amount of people that seemed to be arriving to see José's photographs. She sees some people from the University and she gets immediately nostalgic – oh how simpler were those days…

She smiled at the be-suited gentleman at the door who nodded her inside and at the pristinely dressed woman who handed her a booklet and wished her a pleasant visit. It was warmer inside and the buzzing of several voices, soft background instrumentals and the subdued but present scent of champagne all worked into her system pretty quickly and she suddenly relaxed. Here was something different to do, to see, to feel – the oppression of her routine was momentarily lifted. A little change to help matters, she hoped optimistically.

Taking a bracing breath, Ana started walking further into the Gallery, gladly accepting the champagne glass she was offered. The faces around her weren't familiar and she couldn't see José yet, but she had time, so she started looking at his photographs on display. She was proud and impressed. While she had seen a lot of his work before, he had clearly been saving his best photos for a special occasion. He had a great eye, she'd often told him that.

As she turned to go around a large canvas she had to stop as a young, preppy looking couple was openly staring at her and smiling while whispering to each other. Ana blinked at them, smiled back and moved to walk around them. She took a generous sip of her champagne, and immediately wondered what Christian would say about it. _Fuck… _She closed her eyes briefly, pinching the bridge of her nose. Shaking her head to clear it, she took another, even more generous sip and carried on.

And then she halted, nearly choking on her own saliva as she did so. Across from her, hanging from the far wall were seven huge portraits… of her. They were all black and white and glossy and… beautiful, depicting several of her facial expressions.

"Holy shit…" she muttered, her hands shaking slightly so that she nearly dropped her booklet and what was left of the champagne sloshed from side to side against the glass flute.

She vaguely remembered the day those were taken – she'd thought José was just goofing around with his camera and she'd happily posed for him. It had been a good day, she had been happy. _This_ had never crossed her mind. What the hell was he thinking? As she glanced directly below she could see a few people doing double takes – great.

She was going _to kill_ José…

"Ana!"

She heard the excited voice behind her and turned around, the anger quickly leaving her at the sight of her happy and dear friend José. He wore a suit really well, she had to admit and when he beamed at her she couldn't help but beam back. He pulled her into a bone-crushing hug and she laughed as she hugged him back, trying not to spill the last of her drink.

"José…" she gasped. "Congratulations! It's just wonderful, all of it…" she smiled as he put her back on the floor to look at her. "I'm so happy for you!"

"I know right?" he opened his arms to gesture around him. "I'm _hot_!"

Ana chuckled, nodding. "You are!"

José's eyes lifted over her head and a slightly panicky look flashed across his eyes before he looked at her sheepishly and cleared his throat. "So… did you like them?"

Ana's cheeks flushed immediately and she looked over her shoulder quickly and back. "You could have given me the heads up…" she muttered awkwardly, noticing several people to be staring at them openly.

"Right…" José ran a hand over the back of his neck, smiling guiltily. "I was going to… but I got carried away and…well Ana… I'm surprised you're here at all, to be honest."

Ana stared at him wide eyed. "What do you mean? I told you I'd come!"

"Yeah but… you're in Seattle now and you have a job and you're… too cool for school and…"

Ana slapped his middle mercilessly and didn't smile even as José beamed at her. The warmth oozed out of him in waves and she was momentarily overwhelmed. Oh why, why couldn't she fall in love with someone like José? It would be so easy.

"Of course I came…" she murmured. "It's _you_ José!" she said gesturing around them. "How could I not?"

José smiled happily and Ana smiled back – unable to stay mad about the photos. He had to go because apparently some journalist wanted to speak to him, so Ana was left to look around alone again. She looked once again at the seven monstrosities on the wall, wanting to curl up and die. She felt someone staring at her and she looked to her left.

A tall, blonde man in a black suit was watching her. His eyes flitted briefly to her portraits and back – he smiled at her and turned away, slowly walking to the other side of the Gallery. For some reason Ana couldn't take her eyes off of him and she followed his progress as he mingled into the crowd, pulling a cell phone from his pocket and taking it to his ear. Something about him gave her a funny feeling. But then he was out of her sight and Ana decided to keep going, before people thought she was too in love with her own photographs.

After she had seen everything, Ana went around looking for José and found him surrounded by admiring girls. She waved at him and he quickly extricated himself from them.

"Ana! You're still here!"

"Yeah but I… I should probably go. I have to drive back and I work tomorrow…" she shrugged apologetically when José's smile faltered a bit. "But hey, don't be a stranger. Come visit us in Seattle once your ego deflates from all the female attention, OK?"

José grinned. "Like that's ever gonna happen!"

Anna chuckled and hugged him tight. José held her back, for a moment his mirth was gone and when she pulled away there was a forlorn expression on his face. They said bye and Ana walked away.

She got her coat from the trunk of her rental car and dropped it on the passenger's seat before she got in to drive. She hoped the radio would keep her awake for the journey back. The road was her enemy – too much time to think and lament. So she turned the music really loud and drummed her fingers against the wheel to the beat and sometimes mouthed, sometimes sang along to the songs that came.

The champagne had left an unpleasant after taste and she again thought about Christian. She rolled her eyes, and _that_ made her think of him as well. _Shit, fuck, damn…_

She turned up the music louder and continued drumming, but her lips pressed tight together, refusing to even lip synch to a song about love and rainbows. Getting angry at the stream of love songs that seemed to be coming out, Ana leaned over to switch to another station and that was when the car made an angry, choking nose and started slowing down.

"What the… ?" she pulled back, looking at the dashboard.

Another car behind her flashed their headlights brightly and honked rudely, she flinched and had to squint her eyes not to be blinded by it. She quickly swerved to the left and pulled into the roadside just as the car stopped altogether and went quiet.

"Oooh no…" she gasped as she looked disbelievingly at the dashboard.

She tried starting the car again, but it merely coughed up and choked before it went silent. Ana gave it three more tries and finally gave up, throwing her head back against her seat. She counted to ten and opened her eyes, chewing on her lips as she thought about her options. It was then she caught something through the rearview mirror. Another car had stopped several feet behind her on the roadside, flashing its headlights before they dimmed. Ana drew in an uneasy breath and sat up, keeping her eyes on the mirror as someone pushed open a door and unfurled themselves from the driver's seat. She could tell it was a tall man, but with the lights she couldn't make much out of him. She waited until he was by her window and she rolled it down minimally. All she could see was the front of his white shirt and black tie and suit.

"Problems, miss?" the man asked in a polite voice.

"Uhm… yeah I… I don't know much about cars but…"

"Pop the hood up, I'll take a look," he said already walking to the front.

Ana blinked and fumbled a little until she found the right button. She pushed her door open and got out of the car, looking as several cars sped past them into the night. She envied them. She had work tomorrow dammit. She neared the front of the car, wrapping her arms about herself as the chill of the night grew sharper.

"Is it bad?" she asked.

"I'm no mechanic either but it seems to be your carburetor." The man said as he straightened up and took a few steps back, still staring at the engine.

And there, with the headlights hitting him squarely on the face she recognized him. It was the man from the Gallery! The one she had singled out for some reason. There he was in his black suit, his blonde hair still perfectly gelled. The funny feeling was back.

"Uhm…you were at the Art Gallery…" she muttered uncomfortably taking a step back.

The man looked up at her, surprised, and, sensing her hesitation, he looked apologetic.

"I'm sorry, Miss Steele, I didn't mean to scare you. I promise you I'm no stalker." He put his hands up placatingly and took a step back to give her more space.

_Miss Steele!_

"You know my name?" the funny feeling was quickly evolving into a panicky feeling.

The man looked momentarily contrite and pressed his eyes closed for a moment. A cell phone chirped and Ana took a step back, watching as the man swiped his phone from his jacket pocket and turned away.

"Swayer," he said into the phone.

_Sawyer?_ She knew no one by that name. How did _he_ know _her_?

"Yes, we are on the road right now, sir." Sawyer said in an even voice as he took a few more steps away, his back to her.

_We?_ Ana looked over her shoulder at his car and as far as she could tell he was by himself.

"Miss Steele had a problem with her car, I stopped to offer her assistance." Sawyer looked over his shoulder at her, his expression blank. "Yes, she is unharmed. No, there was no sign of her sir…" there was a long pause. "Certainly, Mr. Grey…"

Ana exhaled and suddenly relaxed, having been unaware she had been holding her breath. Christian, this was Christian's doing… She wasn't about to get murdered or anything. She almost laughed to herself as she turned to walk to her car, the chill was getting to her and she needed her coat. But as she shrugged it on, a frown settled on her face. What was this about? Why was Christian having her followed? This was creepy, even for him! She watched the man with a frown as he hung up and immediately made another call. She sat in the driver's seat but kept the door open, she stared at the man, her frown only deepening.

"Miss Steele…" _Sawyer_ was back. "I have called a tow truck and alerted the Rental Car Company of your troubles. If you could please get all your belongings… I will drive you back to Seattle."

"You work for Christian," she accused.

Again Sawyer looked contrite, he nodded. "Yes ma'am, I do. I apologize…" he then looked chastised. "I'm Luke Sawyer, I'm in Mr. Grey's security team," he offered her his hand to shake.

Ana stared at his hand momentarily before she gripped it. "Why is Christian having me followed?" she asked, not moving from her seat.

Luke Sawyer hesitated. "I think I should let Mr. Grey answer that one, ma'am."

Ana sighed and then moved to get her purse from under her seat. She followed Luke Sawyer to his car and figured it was another of Christian's safe cars from his fleet. Sawyer opened the door for her and she smiled awkwardly and thanked him before getting inside.

Christian had better have a very good explanation for this. Sawyer had been at the Gallery – where else had he been? She watched him through the rearview mirror from her back seat. She thought about asking him but decided against it. He wasn't going to be forthcoming, she would have to ask Christian.

She was going to see Christian again… Oh… she didn't know how to feel about that. She tried to squash the butterflies in her stomach. This was not cause to get excited, or happy. Something must have happened for Christian to think she needed an escort to a Photography exhibit in Portland. She wasn't his anymore, she didn't need to abide to his crazy rules. If he'd done this, then something had happened, and he would explain it and then everything was back to normal… The normal being them being apart, with Ana silently nursing her heart back to health and Christian probably looking for a suitable submissive.

Ana clenched her jaw at the thought. She pressed her eyes tightly closed and willed those thoughts away. _What, did you think he was gonna mope around for you like you do him? Of course he's gonna find someone else. Someone who isn't going to make inappropriate demands of him and someone who will probably enjoy all the whips and chains business. And then Christian's going to laugh and wonder why he ever bothered with someone like you._

Ana took a deep, shuddering breath and wrapped her arms about herself again and forced her eyes to the road outside. She needed something else to think about. When she glanced at the rearview mirror again, she realized Sawyer was peeking at her too. She quickly looked away. She wondered what he knew. Taylor obviously knew who she had been to Christian. Did this Sawyer know too?

"Are you sure you can't tell me why you're following me around?" she asked bravely.

His eyes met hers through the mirror again. "All I can say is that it was for your protection, Miss Steele."

"Protection from what?" she asked.

"I should really let Mr. Grey explain that to you, Miss Steele. It's not my place."

Ana swallowed and nodded with resignation. "So how long have you been working for Christian?" she asked.

Sawyer hesitated only a moment. "About two weeks, ma'am."

_Two weeks? _She'd never seen him before. Where had he been?

"And for how long have you been following me around?"

She thought she saw a hint of a smile. "Since this evening, Miss Steele."

"Ana," she said.

His eyes met hers again in the mirror. He looked away and made no comment. Ana rolled her eyes and focused back on the road again. The cars passing by in a blur, the trees, the night sky – she looked for anything to distract her from the still long drive ahead, and thoughts of seeing Christian again.

Ana suddenly opened her eyes and realized two things: one, she'd fallen asleep in the car, and two, they were in Seattle. She batted her eyes as she stirred, suppressing a yawn. Her arms were firmly wrapped about herself and her hands were tucked into her arms and hidden underneath the cuffs of her sleeves. She straightened up and her eyes immediately sought Sawyer's in the mirror. She thought she detected a hint of a smile there again. Had she snored? She blushed and looked away as she yawned, unable to stop herself this time. She rubbed her eyes and then glanced outside again. She frowned.

"Uhm…" she sat up a little straighter. "I should probably give you my address… or do you already have it?" she added with a petulant smile at the end.

"I was told to drive you to Escala, Miss Steele."

"Of course you were…" Ana muttered, sitting back. She thought about protesting, and telling him to stop the car so she could get a taxi that would take her home.

But now she wanted answers and this would only infuriate Christian and prolong this, whatever it was, even more.

Sawyer escorted her into the building and up to the elevator. When Ana stepped inside he stood back and nodded. "Ma'am. Mr. Grey will be waiting for you upstairs."

"Right… thanks…" she said uncertainly. She wasn't sure what she was thankful for at the moment. "For the ride," she quickly added. She _was_ thankful for that.

Sawyer smiled again and Ana thought, if she weren't so pathetically in love, she would find him very compelling.

The ride to the penthouse was absurdly long and her stomach was tied up in knots. Her mouth felt suddenly dry. Her heart thumped in her ears.

The elevator doors opened and she stared into the empty foyer, swallowing thickly. She stepped out and suddenly Taylor appeared – the smile on his face polite, but also genuine.

"Good evening, Miss Steele."

"Taylor…" she couldn't help the smile. "How have you been?"

"Excellent, Miss Steele. Mr. Grey is in his office, on the phone. But he will be with you shortly." He gestured inside.

Ana nodded uncertainly and started walking. She found herself pacing in the dimly lit gallery-like room for several minutes. The waiting only increased her anxiety and her hands were cold and she tucked them under her arms again. She refused to sit down, so she walked to stand by the window and stared down at the Seattle night.

She was lost in thought and immobile when he found her. Her scalp prickled and a shiver ran down her spine. That was how she knew he was there. She looked over her shoulder slowly and there he was.

Standing on the elevated floor behind the large couch, he was in the dark where he stood but she could see his grey eyes clearly. She accompanied the bobbing of his Adam's apple as he swallowed. His eyes travelled over her form and he blinked, taking a step forward.

"Ana…" his familiar, husky voice caused her heart to jump start.

Ana turned around, her arms tightening about her body reflexively. "Christian…" she waited until he was in front of her, she had to crane her neck to look into his eyes and she was the one swallowing now.

He smelled amazing and he looked even more handsome than she remembered. Her mouth was ajar and she noticed her body shifting, reacting to Christian's gravitational pull. She wanted to reach out and embrace him, but she knew she couldn't. She swallowed forcibly and tried to stay on track.

"Why am I here, Christian?" she knew her voice was barely there, but at least she'd managed.

His eyes had been on her lips and she forced herself not to bite, knowing what could happen if she did. She noticed his hands clenching next to him and looked up at him inquisitively. He blinked repeatedly and drew in a breath before he spoke.

"It's all just a precaution right now, Anastasia…" he says softly and his use of her name brings old memories she immediately suppresses. "I've had a… situation to manage and there could be some…splash damage in your direction. I needed to be sure you were safe. You wouldn't even have known if it weren't for your car troubles."

"I wouldn't have known, how comforting," Ana deadpanned, surprised by her own attitude. Christian narrowed his eyes at her and his hands flexed. She blinked as he took a step back, his eyes roaming over her again, his lips parted. "Is that why you offered to drive me to Portland?" she snipped.

Christian glared at her, obviously affected by her tone. "No, Anastasia," his voice was firmer now, clearer. "I offered because I wanted to see you."

Her gasp came out before she could suppress it, and she flinched, blinking repeatedly at the unexpected answer. Christian arched an eyebrow at her defiantly and then he started turning away, her heart lurched, her body tried to accompany him. _Wait…_ her brain screamed.

"Would you like something to drink?" he asked casually heading for the kitchen.

**_x.x.x.x_**

* * *

**_review and you get more - thank you for reading_**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you for the follows&favorites and of course, extra-special-cuddly thanks to those who reviewed. **

**I own nothing.**

* * *

**3.**

Anastasia followed him, dropping her arms to her sides and trying to get a grip of herself. She had to stay focused – she needed answers and then she had to get home and get to bed.

"So what is this… splash damage about?" she inquired, her voice a little clearer.

She watched as Christian moved behind the counter, fetching glasses from the cupboard. He turned around and she noticed the tightening of his jaw and slight frown that signaled Christian wasn't comfortable being interrogated.

"Wine?" he offered, evading her question.

"No," she said firmly, her own hands clenching at her sides. "Thank you…" she added a second later, her voice softer. Did he have to make her so nervous? "I uh… already had champagne earlier, I'm done with drinking for tonight."

Christian nodded slowly as he set the glasses aside, his eyes blinking. "Oh that's right. The exhibit. How was it?"

Ana stared at him in frustration. She licked her parched lips reflexively, and tried not to notice Christian's eyes immediately dropping to her mouth or his pupils dilating. She looked away, running her fingers through her hair as she started pacing.

"It was great! José's done really well…" she stopped, turning around to find Christian watching her still. "Christian you haven't had me brought here for small talk…" she sighed. "You said this was just a precaution… against what?"

Christian swallowed again, pinching the bridge of his nose. He nodded, seeming to have reached a decision. He gestured to the stools across from him. "Please, Ana, sit…"

She obliged him, taking the seat directly in front of him. Even from across the counter he still felt too close - his grey eyes were filled with something, she couldn't fathom what, but it was intense and it made her stomach clench.

"So what was all of this following me business about?" Ana insisted.

"It's about Leila…" Christian dropped the name in the air, his eyes dropping to nowhere between them as he seemed to be thinking.

Ana could feel the breath coming out of her as she processed this. A woman's name. He'd given her a woman's name – this should be familiar? Why should it be familiar? Was it Mrs. Robinson? Her eyes flitted about while she breathed slowly trying to remember. No, no, he'd said her name was Elena…

"The Britney Spears fan?" Ana blurted, vaguely remembering a conversation about the 15 that sprung from the time _Toxic_ mysteriously appeared among his selection of better music.

"Yes, her…" Christian finally looked at her again.

_The other one who wanted more_. Ana reminded herself and nodded, then quickly shook her head.

_"OK_? Where does she come into this?"

"Back when you were in Georgia you do remember I had to make a quick return?" Ana nodded and he proceeded. "Leila had turned up unannounced and made a scene in front of Gail."

"Gail?"

"Mrs. Jones."

"Oh…" Ana blinked. "What do you mean she 'made a scene'?"

Christian hesitated, his hands, which he'd braced against the counter clenched slightly. "She made a haphazard attempt at opening a vein."

Ana's eyes widened instantly and she drew in a breath. "Oh my God… was she alright?"

"I guess… that depends on your point of view…" Christian said bleakly. "She obviously lived, but her mental state is something else."

"I would think so…" Ana sighed, feeling bad for the girl. Then as she processed things more she glanced at Christian discreetly, feeling bad for him too. He was pacing, a hand pressing at the back of his neck, he looked exhausted and uncomfortable. "Uhm… so she was trying to get your attention?" Christian nodded. "I'm sorry… I mean I feel bad for her but… someone trying to take their lives and putting it on you it's… no one deserves that!"

Christian stared at her, surprised by her empathy. He blinked repeatedly. "Well I just want to help her now." Ana nodded understandingly, her eyes roaming again. "The reason I worry about you is that…" Ana looked back at him. "Well when she came over she was clutching a magazine cutout… it was a photograph of your graduation night… it was a picture of you and me."

Ana frowned, momentarily confused. Then she remembered Kate's interview, she remembered the general assumption about his sexual orientation based on the fact he was never photographed with a woman. "Oh…" she chuckled nervously. "I see…"

Christian braced himself against the counter again, leaning closer. "The last we found out, Leila had purchased a gun. She is sick and unstable, and she needs help."

"She purchased a gun?" Ana sat up straighter. "Do you think she still wants to kill herself? Or _you_?" Air went out of her lungs at the thought and Ana could feel tears welling up. "Oh Christian…"

"She could be after you too…" he added glumly, his eyes dropped to her lips again, and he uncomfortably pulled away.

Ana blinked and tried to swat away the threatening tears. "After me? Why would she? We're not even together, I was probably your shortest relationship ever," she snorted derisively and Christian glared at her. "Well... she obviously can't know that…"

"No, she can't. And truly we don't know _who_ she bought that gun for. But in the event she intends to use it against you… you understand now why I did what I did."

Ana nodded slowly. "Why didn't you just call the police?"

"Because I think I can help her better than they can."

Ana held in a snort. Yes, she bet he could.

"OK…" Ana nodded, understanding it all finally, but still feeling very uneasy about it all.

She didn't want Christian hurt, or this girl even. Her heart ached terribly and she couldn't even breathe right when she thought about him but… taking her own life? No, she would never do that. _I guess I could be a lot worse then…_ She immediately felt bad for taking some amount of comfort in knowing she handled rejection better than this poor girl did.

Then again it was possible the girl did it just to get his attention. It was still really pitiful and she felt bad for the girl anyway.

"I hope you do help her…" she muttered, meeting his eyes again. "Thank you for telling me…" she slid off the stool. "I should head back home now… it's late."

"Ana please stay…" Christian blurted, halting her immediately, surprising her with the plea in his voice. "I would feel better if you let me take care of you until this is all sorted."

Ana experienced two extremes of emotion in a single bound. First, the jolt of pleasure and content at his request, and then, the deflating reality. This was just Christian being Christian. He took care of his people, subs or employees. It was another form of control. This wasn't about her, it was more about him and his need to control this situation.

"I can take care of myself…" she tried not to bristle at him. "Thank you… really. But I work all day and I doubt Leila could get into SIP with a gun anyway. I'll be fine."

"Then you go home to an empty apartment with no security whatsoever… not to mention you're taking the bus now… Ana it's not safe." Christian countered, walking around the counter.

Ana shrugged. "It's my life Christian – it's where I live and it's my routine. I'm not gonna stay here while you and Taylor play detectives for one of your ex subs…" she trailed off. She was failing at not bristling… damn it. She looked away with embarrassment. "I'll be fine…" she added, subdued, looking up when he stopped in front of her. "Seriously!"

Christian looked on the edge, his eyes seemed to drill holes into her as he gnashed his teeth, trying to think his next words carefully. "Why didn't you take my offer to take you to Portland, Ana?"

The swift change of subject caught her off-guard and she blinked at him, aware of how close he was standing to her now – she could feel his body heat. She looked down and played with the buttons on her coat.

"I didn't want you to be bothered… I could just rent a car. It was what I was planning to do all week…" she shrugged weakly, looking everywhere but at him until she was finished and when she was done she had to swallow at the way his eyes darkened.

"Yes, look how well that turned out…" Christian scoffed.

"I was just extremely unlucky…" she rolled her eyes with a sigh and immediately regretted it when his eyes flashed darkly. She took a step back. "It all turned out OK in the end right? You just had me followed after all…"

Christian blinked repeatedly, trying to get a read on her. Ana squirmed in front of him, fidgeting. He finally spoke. "How was it so easy for you to say no when less than a week ago you told me you loved me?"

Ana blinked at him in confusion. "What?"

"We should talk, Ana…" Christian sighed. "I don't like the way things ended between us. I don't like it that you left. I still want you."

Ana drew in air through her mouth and tried not to hyperventilate. She took a step back. "Christian you know why I left…"

"You didn't say Red…" he murmured.

"What?" Ana blinked.

"The safe word Ana… you didn't use the safe word!" he said exasperatedly, running a hand through his hair and turning away. "You ask me to show you how bad it could get, how far I would go and then you don't safe word!" he turned back to her, frustration etched in his face. "I would have stopped… that's why safe words are there!"

Ana swallowed thickly, suddenly feeling like a 5 year old getting reprimanded. The safe words… of course. Her eyes dropped down and fluttered madly with her embarrassment.

"I didn't even think of it…" she confessed in a whisper.

"How…?" Christian is aghast.

"Hey this is new to me, OK?" she snapped. "Jesus Christ, I was a virgin the first time I walked in here, Christian, do you remember that?" she fought the flushing of her cheeks and carried on. "These things just didn't _occur_ to me at the time alright? You forget how overwhelming all of this has been for me! On top of everything I fell in love with you! I was scared, OK?"

Christian just stared at her quietly for a moment, there was a hint of embarrassment in the back of his eyes, but there was also conflict and Ana watched him with bated breath to see what he would say.

"You're right…" he breathed out looking at the floor between them. "You're right I clearly… didn't consider… how new all of this is to you… or how much I was asking from you…"

Ana looked up in surprise, chewing on her lip nervously, his eyes immediately falling upon them has her quickly stopping and concealing her mouth with a closed fist as she wraps her arm about herself. She nodded waiting for him to continue.

"I am so used to seizing control Ana... I didn't think much of the fact you had never completely surrendered it to me…"

Ana started chewing on her thumb nail instead. "I said I would try…"

"You did…" Christian stepped closer tentatively. "But I guess I can't blame you for being unwilling to do it completely…" He is in front of her again. "I just… _lose it_ when it comes to you Ana…" he reached up to play with a strand of her hair. "But I want us to try again…"

"Why?" Ana forced herself to say while trying to ignore the way he was still playing with her long hair, his knuckles brushing her arm as he ran his fingers through her silky soft tendrils. "You could just find a new sub… one that won't be such a… problem…" she added looking away.

"I don't want anyone else, Ana. And you're not a sub, you have never been…" when Ana looked at him questioningly, he swallowed. "I tried to fit you into the mold because it was what I knew, what I felt comfortable with… but it's not what you are to me Ana… I told you I would try for more too, didn't I?" Ana nodded slowly, wondering where he was going with this. "I think we should both try harder then…"

"I… can't…" Ana said taking a step back, Christian's hand falling to the side as she puts distance between them. "I don't think we're good for each other…" she trailed off. "I don't think I can… meet your expectations."

"Why don't we talk about both our expectations before you decide that?" he offered, tucking his hands in his pockets.

"Christian…"

"Have dinner with me tomorrow. Let's talk… don't let both our inexperience get in the way of what we could be Ana… I haven't stopped wanting you. I've been miserable all week…" he looked straight into her eyes. "Please?"

Ana gaped at him."Uh…" he took a step closer and she again stepped back. "Wait…" she put her hands up. "You… you freaked out when I told you I loved you… I would think you would want me to stay away?" she shook her head. "You confuse me, Christian."

Christian smiled ruefully, running his fingers through his hair again. "I confuse myself too, Ana…" he shrugged. "I was wrong. These past few days have been terrible. I can't stop thinking about you. I freaked out yes, but it hasn't made me stop wanting you. I need to know if we can try again… You just ran away. Talk to me, Ana…"

Ana's heart lurched and she suddenly felt like she was about to say goodbye to her modest dinner of 3minutes pasta. She closed her lips tightly together and clutched at the front of her dress. "Uhm…"

Christian took another step closer and this time she didn't think to step back. "Dinner tomorrow?" he offered again with a tentative smile.

"Okay…" she blurted out before her brain had even processed it.

Christian smiled, and there was such relief there, she watched him mesmerized as he inched even closer, taking her face between his large hands. "I'm going to kiss you now…" it was a statement, but there was a questioning tone to it too.

"Okay…" Ana nodded as well as she could with the way he had her face locked between his hands.

The touch of his firm lips upon her mouth was like stoking the embers of a dying fire. The electricity was instantaneous, she could swear every hair on her body stood on end and she shivered as she leaned into the kiss only too eagerly. It seemed like it had been too long since he had touched any part of her, and now she wanted him everywhere. One languorous swipe of his tongue inside her mouth and she trembled, her hands curling around his collar firmly.

She couldn't touch him so she pressed herself closer to him, to feel him pressed against her body. Christian's hands dropped to her waist, spanning across the small of her back, his thumbs brushing the under swells of her breasts. He growled needily into her mouth, and Ana wound her arms around his neck, hoisting herself up. She could feel his heat pressed up against her stomach and it fueled her own desire.

"I should go…" she said breathlessly as she forced herself to pull away, her hands finding support on his arms. Christian's half-hooded eyes stared unseeing into hers, his breathing as uneven as hers.

"Stay…" Christian muttered, clasping her face between his hands again, regaining the bit of distance she'd put between them. "I need to keep you safe."

Ana shook her head. "It's not safe for me here either."

Christian frowned. "I would never…"

Ana touched her fingertips to his mouth to stop him. "I was talking about my own self-control…" she smiled sheepishly.

Christian relaxed for a moment, but then his expression changed once again, and he grasped her hand in his. "Leila could be a real danger to you Ana. I mean it… let me protect you."

"I appreciate it. But I am not changing my life because of a _potential_ threat. It looks to me as if the only person this girl can truly hurt is herself Christian…" Ana felt sorry for her again. "I'll be fine."

Christian shook his head, starting to protest but Ana held up her hand.

"I'm not changing my mind, Mr. Grey…" she told him seriously.

Christian's jaw tightened. "Very well. I will have Sawyer escort you home then."

Ana sighed. "Fine. But after that you better call him off." Christian made no comment and Ana rolled her eyes, not caring he was watching and she turned around to leave. "Good night, Christian."

"I will pick you up at eight."

Ana halted and then turned back. "Actually… I was thinking I could cook for you." Christian raised an eyebrow curiously. She smiled innocently. "I haven't had a chance to cook for anyone at the new apartment yet." She wanted to feel safe – she wanted to deal with him in an environment where she was in control. If she told him to leave, he would have to leave. "What do you say?"

Christian was watching her as if trying to get a read on her, she waited expectantly.

"As you wish, Miss Steele. I'll bring the wine."

Ana sighed with relief. One small battle won. She nodded smiling and walked away.


	4. Chapter 4

**4.**

Ana stared at the coffee maker, willing it to go faster. She had tried not working herself up too much. She gave herself a nice pep talk while going home last night – reminding herself a dinner and a conversation didn't equal her and Christian getting back together. But her neocortex and frontal lobe seemed to not have been able to process that, she'd barely slept – she'd tossed and turned, at times smiling like an idiot as she replayed Christian's words to her that night, often, her imagination made adjustments, in which by the end, they both ended up tangled in bed together not to re-emerge for hours. She was really a huge idiot. _Lower your godammned expectations, Steele!_

She heard the now familiar sound of the chopper's blades spinning and looked across the street, to the helipad on top of the other building. This time a silly smile crept into her face as she watched it land.

"Here's your coffee, Jack…" Ana muttered as she walked through the door into his office, careful not to spill it. She was still mastering this walking-on-high-heels thing. She would have preferred to wear flats, but everyone here was so poised and elegant and… _tall_. She felt the urge to fit in. "Black, no sugar."

"Thank you, Ana! I'm dying for a caffeine injection!" he smiled toothily at her as he leaned back on his chair, watching as she carefully placed the cup on his desk. "Say Ana, you're coming to 50s with the rest of us tonight, aren't you?"

Ana looked up at him, confused. "Fifties?"

"The bar across the street! We always have drinks there every other Friday! It's team spirit, you know? We're not _all_ about work here!" he winked.

"Oh…" Ana blinked repeatedly. "I uh… I sort of have a thing tonight…"

"What? Like a date?" Jack asked with sneer. "I thought you'd said you didn't have a boyfriend!"

"It's an… ex-boyfriend. It's just dinner really. Or… I'd totally come!" she smiled nervously. "Write me down for the next one!"

Jack narrowed his eyes at her, speculatively. His grin was a little jarring. "Very well! I won't hold it against you. After all… it's the _ex_!" he laughed. "You can go and get started on those manuscripts, Ana. Thanks again, for the coffee."

"Right uhm… excuse me."

_Phew_. Jack was a little creepy. He was a bit too personal! Asking her about her love life was just inappropriate. She returned to her desk and took a nice, long sip of the coffee she'd brought for herself. She cracked her knuckles and told herself to get some work done today or she'd be ashamed of herself.

However, not long into her _getting work done_ task, she received another e-mail from Christian. Her heart did a little flip at the sight of his name in her inbox. What if he'd changed his mind? What if he cancelled on her? _By e-mail? Christian's classier than that…_

* * *

**From:** Christian Grey  
**Subject:** Tonight  
**Date:** June 10th, 2011 9:30  
**To:** Anastasia Steele

Dear Ana,

I can't wait to see you. I wish you had stayed last night. I plan to convince you to come back to me Ana – you should never have left.

Know that Sawyer will be following you around today, for your safety. I take it very seriously, Miss Steele. Do not fight me on this. If Sawyer asks you to go with him, please obey. I can't let anything happen to you.

I'll see you tonight.

Christian Grey  
CEO, Grey Enterprises Holdings, Inc.

* * *

_For your safety_. Ana sighed. Of course. He would also be aware of her every step. How very convenient for him. She couldn't shake the feeling getting back together was a mistake. As much as her body and her heart were very much on board with the idea – God, her skin broke into goosebumps at the mere idea – there was a part of her, the hard-thinking part of her, she believed, that knew it wasn't that simple. They had very different expectations. She didn't know what Christian expected they could accomplish this evening. The last time they'd sat down to talk his contract she had thought she could do it, but she didn't, and her silly feelings got in the way too.

"Ana, I'll be on the ninth floor in a meeting with Elizabeth. Please write down any messages and hold my calls."

Jack Hyde has surged from his door and startled Ana into a state. She gasped and held her hand to her chest. Fortunately Jack didn't notice as he marched past her towards the elevators.

"Sure thing, Jack," she cleared her throat and wanted to smack her head. _Work Ana, you're here to work, not to think about your love life. What love life, idiot? Sex life at best. Well having a sex life isn't so bad…_

Ana dropped her head to her desk and started banging it against it softly.

"Ana…?"

"Yeah?" Ana sat up straight, her face going beet red in a split of second.

It was Claire from the reception, standing in front of her desk hesitatingly, holding a folder to her chest. "Uhm…are you alright?"

"Yeah, sure!" Ana said casually, moving hair away from her face. "What's up?"

Claire blinked at her repeatedly and finally shook her head, stepping closer and handing the folder over to her.

"Elizabeth asked me to get this for her. She's going to be with Jack so I thought you wouldn't be missed at your desk if you popped up in the ninth floor real quick, and I have no one else available to do it right. Could you…?"

"Yeah, sure! Jack just walked by here on his way there!" Ana stood up, pushing her chair back. _Work, yes work – I'm supposed to work, dammit._

After a quick trip to the ninth floor to deliver that folder, Ana returned to her desk and to her cold coffee mug. Sighing she walked over to the break room, dumped it in the sink and rinsed it, before bringing it back to her desk. She sat down and returned to work.

She patted herself on her back for actually managing to accomplish things before her lunch break. She sauntered out of the SIP building into a mildly grey noon, adjusting her soft woolen coat around herself and adjusting the strap of her purse on her shoulder. There were several people out on the street and Ana treaded her way around them on her way to this little restaurant she had discovered just a block and a half away.

A gust of wind made her stop to remove her hair from her eyes and just as she was ready to start walking again the sound of a horn and cars screeching made her halt. She snapped her head to the side and blinked, half-turning to see none other than Mr. Sawyer in the middle of the street, having nearly been run over by a car. He was holding his hands up and stepping back, while the driver seemed to be yelling and gesturing angrily at him.

Ana frowned and had this funny feeling she should look around – when she did her heart stopped. A brown haired young woman was looking straight at her and then her eyes flitted over to Sawyer and the car on the street and back. Ana barely had the time to register the overly large clothes and the bandages peeking out of her cuffs.

_Leila?_

Ana took a tentative step forward, her hand reaching towards her. The young woman's eyes widened and then her eyes flitted quickly to Sawyer again. She pushed her matted brown hair behind her ear and turned around, quickly disappearing in the crowd.

Ana turned to see Sawyer dashing forward, jumping out of the way of more cars. She didn't wait for him, she started running in the direction the girl had disappeared to, shouldering her way past the people walking in the opposite direction. She glimpsed the back of her head, and recognized her tan coat. Ana cursed her high heels and pressed on, apologizing hastily to the people complaining at her.

"Leila!" she shouted in the crowd.

Leila stopped, looking over her shoulder, seemingly surprised. Ana tried smiling encouragingly at her as she approached. She hesitated, looking almost as if she was going to wait for her, but then her eyes flitted over beyond her and she turned her back and crossed the street in a hurry.

"No!" Ana gasped tiredly and then made it to follow her.

"Miss Steele!" Sawyer was suddenly next to her, his hand closing around her arm and keeping her in place. "Please, come with me…"

"What? No!" Ana looked at his hand on her arm and shook it away. "You scared her away!" she accused.

Sawyer raised his eyebrows at her as if to mean that was exactly his intention, but he said nothing. Ana rolled her eyes in defeat and looked again the direction Leila had disappeared, her shoulders sagging.

She had lost her appetite. She just ordered an orange juice to go and walked back to work, distinctly aware now, of Sawyer trailing behind her. She knew he had called Christian to report what happened – he had been standing outside the restaurant while she waited for her order and he kept looking at her apprehensively while speaking on the phone.

She sat behind her desk and tossed the empty plastic cup into her trashcan. Leaning forward and rubbing her temples. _She looked sickly… the poor girl._ She wished she could have talked to her – if only she didn't have a bodyguard. _He was there to protect you from her._ She reminded herself. _She purchased a gun_…

She shook her head and decided not to think about this anymore. She had to focus on her job if she wanted to keep it. Jack called her in his office to write down a few instructions and they were for things she needed to do right away, so that helped her keep busy. It was around four when she returned to her desk after doing _a lot_ of copying. She sat down huffing tiredly and was just about to turn her laptop back on when she saw Claire clickety clacking towards her again with a small frown and biting her lip.

"Ana…?"

"Yes?"

"Uhm… this woman called in at the reception, asking for you. She wouldn't say who she was. I thought it was a bit strange because, you would give your actual desk number to people you know right?"

Ana felt a chill running down her spine and she slowly nodded. "Is she still on the line?"

"No… but she gave me a number…" she gave her a piece of paper. "Looks like a public phone number too," she shrugged.

"Thanks, Claire. And I uh…" she cleared her throat. "Sorry you had to get up to do this."

She shrugged. "You weren't answering your phone."

"Yeah I just got back from the copy room."

Claire nodded understandingly and smiled before turning around to leave. Ana stared at the piece of paper and made a quick decision. Grabbing her cell phone she stood up and hurried over to the empty break room. She dialed the number and waited apprehensively.

_"He… hello?"_

"Leila…?" Ana breathed into the phone. "Is that you?"

_"Yes… yes it's me…_"

Ana sighed and closed her eyes momentarily. _Talk to her._ "Uhm… it was probably a good idea to call. I don't think you would have been able to approach me otherwise."

_"Yes I… I realize that…"_

"Do you want to hurt me, Leila?" Ana asked, keeping her voice low and her eye on the doorway.

There was a pause, which made her nervous.

_"No!"_ The girl answered in a strangled voice.

"Do you want to hurt Christian?" Ana waited.

_"He lets you call him Christian…_" it wasn't a question.

Ana closed her eyes. "Do you want to hurt him?"she insisted.

There was a deep sigh on the other side. _"No…"_

"Why did you buy a gun, Leila?"

There was a derisive snort on the other side. _"Of course he's tracking me down…"_

"Leila…" Ana continued patiently. "Please don't hurt yourself… let's talk… we can meet…"

_"He won't let you…"_

"I… I can leave through the parking lot…my… guard won't be expecting that… Please, we should talk. You obviously came looking for me because you want something… so let's talk."

There was another long pause in which Ana held her breath, chewing on her lip.

_"Okay… I think I'd like that…"_

* * *

Thank you ARSG, chrisana143, AliciaLou, Tmacone, Beth and Mysterious Guest for the support/comments.


	5. Chapter 5

**5.**

Ana stepped out of the elevator into the underground parking lot just after five-thirty. She checked her watch as she walked across it towards the exit. She was supposed to cook for Christian tonight. But somehow, talking to this girl had become more important. The sight of the sickly looking girl did something to her. She had either tried to kill herself or tried to draw attention to herself by attempting it – she needed help. She wasn't going to make it easy for Christian to find her – she already knew he had been tracking her down and she had ran from Sawyer – so perhaps she had a better chance of reaching to her.

She made sure they were meeting in a very public place. She chose a popular café a twenty minute drive away. She needed to be far enough that Sawyer wouldn't find them easily. She also needed to be sure he didn't see her leaving the building. She was certain he would be expecting her to leave through the front door like everyone who didn't own a car. So the parking lot was the most obvious exit. She slowed down as she approached the exit and hesitated, looking up and down to make sure she couldn't see him. In the darkness it was hard to tell. It had started to rain so Ana fished her umbrella out of her purse and hoped it offered her an extra barrier in case he was around.

The parking lot watchers eyed her awkwardly as she made her way up the ramp on two legs, but made no comment. As soon as she saw herself on the sidewalk she looked both ways, her heart hammering. She spied a taxi turning around the corner and jogged closer to the edge waving it over.

"Where to, Miss?"

"Do you know the Riverwood Café?"

As she predicted she made it there in twenty minutes, she paid her fare and jumped out, choosing to keep her umbrella closed and just race inside.

"Good evening, Miss! Table for one?" the smiling girl at the entrance asked.

Ana's eyes scanned over her table and she swallowed as she recognized the brown haired girl sitting at one of the tables in the back.

"I'm expected, thanks…" Ana breathed and started walking across the tables.

Leila was staring down at something on the table which gave her the chance to examine her as she approached. She had long brown hair, that looked like it'd seen better days, there were dark circles under her large brown eyes that looked unhealthily larger. She looked emaciated and sickly. Ana noted again the bandages peeking out of the cuffs of her tan coat.

"Leila…?" Ana called gently as she stopped in front of her.

Leila snapped her head up, looking surprised. She batted her eyes slowly, her eyes trailing down over her blatantly. Ana shifted uncomfortably, pushing her hair behind her ear before she pulled a chair for herself.

"You came…" Leila said as she sat down across from her.

"I said I would…" Ana looked back at her strangely.

Leila watched her for an uncomfortably long moment before a strange smile crossed her lips and she looked away. "I had expected you to just call him and tell him where I'd be."

"I made a deal with you, I wouldn't do that!" Ana gasped outraged. Leila looked down again and something about her expression made Ana stop, cock her head and frown. "Wait… is that what you _expected _or what you_ wanted _me to do?" Leila simply continued to stare down. "Oh… I see…"

"I'm sorry…" Leila said, attempting an apologetic look.

"Why didn't you just walk up to his apartment and said _hey, here I am_? He's been looking for you!" Ana shrugged.

Leila looked away again, an embarrassed smile on her face. "You don't get it… to have _him_ come after _me_… it's a matter of pride…" she looked back at her. "Or perhaps you do get it…"

Ana blinked repeatedly, confused. "Why were you outside my workplace today, Leila? Why did you call me? What do you want?"

"I wanted to see what… what was so different about you…" Leila shrugged, her eyes again trailing over her. She leaned forward on the table unexpectedly, her elbows at the table, her bandaged wrists coming out almost completely. "What do you have that I don't?"

Ana recoiled in her chair, something about the girl's searching eyes was making her uncomfortable.

"Are you ladies ready to order?" a waitress sidled up to them.

Ana looked up with relief and saw through her peripheral as Leila pulled back, hiding her hands under the table. Ana looked at Leila uncertainly, not sure she still wanted to be here after all. She asked for an O.J. and Leila just asked for coffee. The waitress walked away.

"I don't know what to tell you…" Ana said looking away. "You seem to be under the impression he is more serious about me than he was about any of the others…"

"He is…" Leila snapped. There was something different about her now. Gone was the hesitant, fragile girl. Her eyes were hard, her jaw was clenched. "You are different. He let himself be photographed with you."

"He gave a speech and conferred degrees at my graduation…" Ana shrugged. "I happened to be standing there with him when the photographer came up!"

"He introduced you to his family."

Ana stared at her, taken aback. "How did you know…?"

Leila shifted uncomfortably again, her eyes dropping to her lap. "Does it matter?" she shrugged.

"I was still just a sub," Ana insisted , sad as she was to admit it.

"You weren't before you met him."

Again, Ana frowned. "How do you know that?"

Leila sighed shaking her head. "It's true isn't? You were never a sub before."

"No, I wasn't. I said I would try… I sucked at it, I left." Ana looked around impatiently, this was getting to her in a bad way. This chick was pushy. "Look… I am sorry. You are obviously going through something… difficult. What you did in Christian's apartment, it made him worried. He could have called the police on you, did you know? He didn't. He wants to help you!"

"I'm not interested."

"Why did you buy a gun?"

She shrugged. "I have the right to own a gun."

"You've recently tried to kill yourself."

Leila laughed, her eyes dropping to the table between them, and again Ana was uncomfortable. She watched as the girl, lifted a hand to scratch at her forehead, her bandage visible. The waitress came back with their drinks and Ana stared at her juice, knowing she couldn't possible swallow now.

"I can promise you it won't happen again…" Leila said once the waitress was gone.

Ana shook her head. "I hope not."

"I was married," Leila announced. "Did Mr. Grey tell you that?"

Ana shook her head. "No, he didn't."

"I met him right after I left Christian two and half years ago. Did he tell you why I left?" her eyes were now on her coffee, as she swirled the spoon around it slowly.

"You wanted more…"

"Yeah…" she banged the spoon against the cup and put it down. "So I met my husband. He was one of those _serious_ guys… you know, the ones who want to commit," there was a strange smile on her lips now. "I thought, what the hell? It's what I wanted. So we got married a few months later."

"Oh…" Ana just glanced around.

"But he wasn't all I needed, you know?" her eyes finally returned to hers. "I got bored."

"You left him…"

"Few months back."

"I see…" Ana swallowed. "Then you thought about looking for Christian again?"

"I learned about you. I was… furious…" the hesitant, fragile girl was back.

Ana was having a hard time following her mood swings. She looked like she was about to cry now.

"I can understand that… But you can't hold people's feelings against them… Nor can you hold it against them when they can't return yours…" she leaned over the table, trying to sound gentle.

"It's easy for you to say," the cold, hard-eyed girl was back. "He loves you."

Ana shook her head, almost laughing bitterly. "No, he doesn't."

"That's not what Elena says…"

"What?" Ana sat back.

Leila's eyes widened and she swallowed visibly. She'd said to much.

"Elena?" Ana repeated. _Mrs. Robinson?_ "Is she the one who told you about me?"

Leila's eyes flitted over to the entrance behind Ana and widened even more and she seemed to freeze in her seat.

"Leila… _tell_ me!" Ana insisted leaning over the table.

Ana felt someone at her back, and noticed when Leila's head an eyes dropped in a submissive manner, her hair falling like curtains around her face. Ana looked over her shoulder.

Christian was standing right there, with Taylor and Sawyer flanking him. She frowned at her designated bodyguard and he looked mildly apologetic.

"Christian, what are you doing here?" she asked irritably.

Christian's eyes, which had been trained on Leila, moved to hers and the ice in them would have frozen her in her seat too. Ana swallowed and simply cocked her head to the side, expecting an answer.

"Anastasia, you will leaving with Sawyer and wait in the car. I'll take over this meeting now."

"Excuse me?" she shook her head at him. "I don't remember you being invited."

"_Now_, Ana!"

Ana could hear as Leila whimpered behind her and she turned her head brusquely. Dear Lord the girl was going to kneel in the middle of the restaurant any moment! Her eyes roamed around the nearest tables and the other customers had noticed the tension and watched on expectantly.

She swallowed, looking between former master and sub, suddenly very uncomfortable.

"Miss Steele…" Sawyer had stepped forward, a pleading look in his eyes.

Ana looked at Christian again – he looked so angry! She grabbed her purse and sighed, standing on her legs as fluidly as she could and forced herself to hold Christian's icy glare until she had walked past him.

* * *

**thx for the reviews**


	6. Chapter 6

**thank you again for the feedback.**

* * *

**6.**

Ana halted on the sidewalk, watching as Sawyer strode past her to the side of the car and pulled the door open for her. She battled with herself on what to do next, her jaw clenching. She stared into the car for a moment, her eyes then flitted up to that of her _bodyguard_. She looked over her shoulder into the coffee house and shook her head.

Sighing, she started walking away. She heard it when Sawyer shut the door behind her but ignored it as she started looking for a cab.

"Miss Steele…"

"No. You don't get to follow me!" she whipped her finger out at him. To his credit, he didn't even flinch, merely stared at it before facing her again. "I'm going home. You can tell your boss I didn't want to wait."

"Mr. Grey would prefer…"

"Mr. Grey can kiss my ass!" Ana spat, barely noticing the way Sawyer blinked repeatedly at her and tried to conceal his smirk. She started turning away when she remembered something important. "How did you find me anyway?"

Mr. Sawyer cleared his throat and looked down at the floor between them. "I received a call letting me know you left through the parking lot and called for a cab."

Ana narrowed her eyes at him. "_Who_ would have made that call?"

"I think you would want to ask Mr. Grey, Miss Steele."

Ana rolled her eyes. "Whatever…" she turned her back on him and started looking for a cab again.

Mr. Sawyer was clever enough not to question her again, or stop her, when she finally succeeded in getting one to stop for her. But she was unsurprised when she looked over her shoulder and noticed he was driving the car behind her. _This is ridiculous._ Christian had found the girl – he was speaking to her right now! She wasn't at risk. It was this sort of overwhelming bullshit she couldn't take.

She completely ignored her tail when she paid her fare and hopped out of the cab. She walked straight up to her door and unlocked it, never acknowledging the black vehicle parked across the street. She made it upstairs and into the apartment, tossing her purse on the nearest surface and shrugging off her coat to hang it by the door. Just as she did she heard something like a door banging and rattling, making her freeze on the spot. Her head immediately snapped in the direction of the kitchen and she noticed the light was on. _What?_

She didn't know if it was the whole Leila thing but she was immediately shaking. Slowly she reached for her phone and started walking closer to the doorway, minding her steps to make as little noise as possible. She heard the fridge door opening and then she peeked inside. She cocked her head and narrowed her eyes when she recognized a man's hand wrapped around it. He was bent over, looking into her fridge. She could see denim-clad legs and brown boots. A light suddenly flicked in her brain.

"Ethan?" she called with surprise.

Ethan pulled up, poking his head over the fridge door. He smiled and waved. "Hi, Ana!'

"Hey!" she laughed with relief and sagged against the doorjamb. "I thought you were coming on Tuesday! What happened?"

"I uh…" Ethan stepped back and closed the fridge, holding a bottled water. "Got fed up with those two, to be honest. There's only so much a brother can take, you know?" he shivered theatrically, leaning against the sink and uncapping his bottle. "You know Kate."

Ana laughed and nodded. "Too intense for you, huh?"

"Yeah, you could say." His eyes trailed over her and he nodded approvingly. "Now, look at you! The look suits you. Like a hot secretary!" he beamed.

Ana gaped at him for a moment. "_Secretary?_ Seriously? I intend to be a hot… chief editor some day!" she joked.

Ethan laughed and took a long gulp of his water. "You will be. I have no doubt!"

"So did you get the keys from Kate?" Ana frowned suddenly, remembering she was supposed to let him in on Tuesday.

"Yep. I nagged her for them when I decided to come in early."

"Good! Well, you're obviously already making yourself at home so I uh… gonna hop into the shower."

"OK! Do you want to order pizza for later?"

"Sure! Good idea!" she turned away to start walking towards her bedroom and then stopped herself, popping back into the doorway with a frown. Ethan watched her back with arched eyebrows. "Actually I uh… had plans…" she gesticulated at a loss. _Did she still have plans? Was Christian going to bother showing up after she up and left him at the coffee house? Maybe he was too busy with Leila…_ "Well I…" she shook her head. "Never mind. Just… yeah… we'll do pizza. I'll be right back!"

He would be busy helping Leila, or whatever. She had wanted him to come after her after all. She got what she wanted. _Because of you. Nice work, Ana…_ Yeah. She led him straight to her. But that was for the best. At least now he could talk her down of whatever cliff she was on. The girl had been somewhat intimidating with her shifting moods. She'd said she would never try to kill herself again… Had she ever even meant to? What if she really was just after a chance to hurt Christian? Her heart stopped momentarily – her hand on the faucet. _No. He'll be fine. He has Taylor with him_.

She sighed and carried on. She undressed and stepped into the shower, allowing the hot water to wash over her. The tension in her muscles slowly left her. She started feeling better. Then a name slipped back into her mind and ruined everything.

_Elena._ Mrs. Robinson knew Leila… Mrs. Robinson told Leila about her. Why? Why would Christian's subs even know her? Did they all know her? Ugh, the thought was unnerving. Why would the woman go and say something like that to her? That Christian _loved_ her? Please! How could she even make such an assumption? What did she even know about them?

Her stomach churned at the idea that Christian could have possibly have talked about her to that woman…

The shower wasn't comforting her anymore, so she finished off and stepped into her bedroom to get dressed. After changing into comfy sweatpants and a tank top she decided to join Ethan again – hoping he would get her mind off those uncomfortable thoughts with tales of _his_ discomfort while hanging out with his oversexed sister and Elliot Grey.

As she padded barefoot across the hallway she frowned. She heard voices coming from the front room. Who was Ethan talking to? Was the pizza already here?

But as she stepped into her living room she stoppd. Ethan was holding the door open and standing there on her threshold was Christian, his face in a deep frown as Ethan talked.

"Oh, there she is!" Ethan announced looking over his shoulder. "You've got a visitor!" he gestured towards Christian.

Christian's eyes met hers and she could tell he was working hard to conceal his displeasure. She wanted to roll her eyes at herself. She could feel her body reacting accordingly and it frustrated her. He turned her into a nervous wreck, yet she was happy he was here. That he wasn't angry enough to not want to see her again.

"Hi!" she blurted after ten uncomfortably quiet seconds. "I uh… didn't think you'd turn up after… well it looked like you would have been busy."

Before Christian could respond Ethan snapped his fingers. "Oh! Yours plans!" he looked between them. "I probably came at the wrong time."

Ana watched as Christian eyeballed Ethan as though he couldn't possibly agree more and she hurried to make it less awkward.

"No, it's fine. Things didn't go as planned earlier. I thought dinner was off." She then eyed Christian. "I'm sure we can take a rain check."

"Or… you could just join us for pizza!" Ethan offered with a friendly smile.

Ana had to drop her eyes to the floor to conceal her smirk at the idea of Christian Grey, CEO, sitting on the floor with them, eating pizza straight from the box with his bare hands.

"Thank you, but Ana is right."

Ana snapped her head up, part of her disappointed he refused, part of her relived. She frowned at the resignation in his voice. His eyes were on her, inscrutable.

"Things did go a bit off track tonight. But thank you," he added for Ethan's benefit, making the effort to smile politely. "However, I would like a word, Ana. Downstairs, if you please?" he nodded his head towards the stairs behind him.

Ana frowned, noticing he seemed very keen to go. She agreed and shot Ethan a small smile as she walked past him to follow Christian down the stairs. She watched in anticipation as he strode to the front door and turned back, his fingers on his lower lip as he started pacing – a contemplative expression on his face. She stopped at the bottom of the stairs and clasped her hands in front of herself.

"So uh… what happened after I left?" she asked straight out.

Christian looked up at her and sighed. "I talked to her. We made our amends. She's going to stop stalking both you and me."

"Oh. That easy?" Ana shrugged.

Christian frowned. "I didn't really give her a choice. It's either that or I got to the police. With her NDA signed and my CCTV recordings showing her breaking into my apartment and waiting outside on several occasions it would be too easy to get a restraining order."

"Of course…." Ana chuckled, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Well, I'm glad that's solved then. But she needs professional help."

"I'm arranging that for her too."

Ana looked up at him and then nodded. "That's sweet of you."

Christian grimaced, although the compliment didn't suit him. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "You seriously frustrated me today, Ana…" he stopped in front of her. "First, trying to talk to Leila on the street, sneaking out after work to meet with her without my knowing. Then running away! Did you hear _anything_ I said you last night?"

"I did. But I also knew I was safe in a public place and I didn't think that woman was honestly looking for an opportunity to hurt me. And _yes_ I did sneak around and I would again if I thought I could I help! Besides it all turned out alright didn't it? I was the perfect bait! She got to see _you_, which was what she wanted. And so did you!" she splayed her hands dramatically. "You're welcome!"

Christian narrowed his eyes. "Don't be cute. This isn't a laughing matter, Ana. Leila is unstable, there's no knowing what she could have done. Did you know she was carrying her gun with her tonight?"

Ana blinked and then fought to conceal her momentary surprise. "No…"

Christian sighed with frustration which caused her to look up again. She looked at him pleadingly.

"Look. I did what I thought best! I wasn't hurt. You're going to have to learn to take that… if you really want us to…" she dropped her eyes to the floor and embraced herself reflexively. "…work…" she eyed him tentatively, partially afraid her actions tonight would have changed his mind completely.

"That's not how I work Ana…" Christian ran his fingers through his hair again, impatience evident in his every move.

"You told me I wasn't a sub…" she took a step closer, forcing him to look at her. "Prove it."

Christian batted his eyes at her, confusion etched on his face. He looked almost like he wanted to take a step back.

"Well, you're safe now…" he answered cryptically, his eyed dropping to her chest for a moment. "I think we can have that conversation some other time." He looked back into her eyes trying for an encouraging smile. "How about tomorrow?"

Ana thought about it for a moment then narrowed her eyes, remembering something important. "Why would Mrs. Robinson tell Leila you _love_ me?"

"What?" Christian gasped with genuine surprise.

Ana cocked an eyebrow. "Didn't Leila tell you that's how she knew all about me? Your Mrs. Robinson must have told her. Maybe she even showed her our picture…"

Christian was shaking his head. "I have no idea… Elena wouldn't…"

"Why would Mrs. Robinson think that, Christian? Why would she think you were in love with me?"

Christian sighed, shaking his head. "I don't know. Maybe I… maybe I sounded a little too upset when we last talked."

"When you last talked…?" Ana shrugged.

"It was after you left…" Christian said, sounding embarrassed. "I'll have to have to talk with Elena it seems."

Ana blinked, now she was the one who was confused. Christian looked more and more uncomfortable now.

"I should go…" he sighed at last. "You don't have to worry about Leila anymore…" he nodded as if to reassure himself. "Goodnight, Ana…"

Ana watched in panic as he turned away – it felt like he was running away. She still had questions, but at the moment all she could think about was that he was not coming back…

"Christian…" she followed him outside on the step, her voice barely there.

He turned around with a questioning look and she looked beyond him, seeing his car and Sawyer's parked across the street. She had the feeling he wasn't going to look for her again. Why did she have that feeling?

"What's wrong…?" she blurted out.

Christian's eyes trailed down again, as he seemed to be trying to determine that too.

"Nothing… nothing's wrong…"

Ana didn't believe him. They stared at each other in silence, both unwilling to move, as though they wanted to prolong this last moment a little more.

Then a car halted in front of the building and it broke the spell. Ana blinked and looked down – it was the pizza delivery guy. She sighed and looked back at Christian as he smiled softly.

"I'll leave you to your dinner…"

Ana watched as he walked down the steps and across the street where Taylor waited with the door open. He never elaborated on _tomorrow…_ There wasn't going to be a tomorrow was there?

She tried not to watch as he drove away.

**_x.x.x.x_**


End file.
